Boogiepop and Others
*For the anime, see Boogiepop (2019). Boogiepop and Others, originally titled Boogiepop Doesn't Laugh (ブギーポップは笑わない, Bugīpoppu wa Warawanai) is the first novel in the Boogiepop Series. It was released in Japan on Feburay 25, 1998, and in the United States on January 14, 2006. It was later included in the first English Boogiepop Omnibus, collecting volumes 1-3. Boogiepop Omnibus 1 (in English). Published by Seven Seas Entertainment On January 10, 2019, a reprint edition was released, with a new cover and new internal illustrations.Boogiepop Volume 1 Reprint (in Japanese) Published by Dengeki Bunko A live-action film adaption was released on March 11, 2000. Boogiepop and Others Imdb Page A sequel anime series titled Boogiepop Phantom, directed by Takashi Watanabe and animated by Studio Madhouse began airing on Jan 5, 2000. Boogiepop Phantom Mal Page An anime adaption directed by Shingo Natsume and animated by Studio Madhouse began airing on January 4, 2019. Boogiepop and Others 2019 Mal Page Publisher's Summary Who am I? My name is Boogiepop… There is an urban legend that children tell about a shinigami that can release people from the pain they are suffering. This “Angel of Death” has a name–Boogiepop. And the legends are true. Boogiepop is real. When a rash of disappearances involving female students breaks out at Shinyo Academy, the police and faculty assume they just have a bunch of runaways on their hands. Yet Nagi Kirima knows better. Something mysterious and foul is afoot. Is it Boogiepop or something even more sinister…? Experience the story through several characters’ eyes as you piece together the true order of disturbing events, in this unforgettable prelude to the Boogiepop Phantom anime series! Plot Summary Prelude Masami Saotome enters the tea room of Shinyo Academy and finds the corpse of Minako Yurihara, before being attacked by the Manticore, which was hanging on the ceiling. While being attacked, he feels happiness for some reason. Kei Niitoki introduces herself to the reader, and explains how none of the people involved in the following event ever managed to grasp the full picture of what happened. Boogiepop and Others Novel, Prelude Chapter One: Romantic Warrior Keiji Takeda briefly describes his experience meeting Boogiepop, and proclaims that the shinigami is gone forever from his life, and that he will never know whether he had told him the truth. Waiting in the station for his girlfriend Touka Miyashita, who is late for their date, Keiji Takeda runs into Masami Saotome and a few of his friends, who are going on a double date. Then, he sees Echoes, stumbling forward on the street with his tattered clothes and crying pitifully, as all the other passersby ignore him. However, only one person, dressed in a black cloak, approached the crying man. Boogiepop whispered words of encouragement in Echoes' ear, which stopped his crying, and then angrily admonished the indolent witnesses who didn't do anything to help. Two policemen came to inspect the suspicious scene, and tried to question Boogiepop. The shinigami, however, skillfully avoided the policemen, and escaped, while Echoes disappeared during the confusion. Keiji, witnessing this scene, recognized Boogiepop's face to be that of his girlfriend, Touka. The next day, on his way to school, Keiji runs into his friend Naoko Kamikishiro, who questions him about the previous day's date. Keiji dodges the question, and then the two meet Kei Niitoki at the school gate. After a short conversation, Keiji and Naoko move on, and the boy tells his schoolmate about what he saw the previous day. Then, Keiji approaches Touka's classroom and, after a short while, encounters Touka in the hallway. The two don't exchange any words, as they are careful to not make their relationship known at school, but he doesn't sense any abnormalities in her. Later, during the disciplinary committee meeting, Keiji hears Touka being called over to her classroom over the PA system, and unintentionally jerks in his seat, causing the teacher to notice him. After leaving the meeting, under the excuse of feeling dizzy, along with Niitoki, who said that she would escort him to the infirmary, the two have a confrontation, in which Niitoki admits that she likes him, before sprinting out of the infirmary. After class, Keiji heads to the back of the school, his and Touka's usual meeting place, but finds it empty. However, he sees a black silhouette on the rooftop of the school. Recognizing it, he runs towards the roof, where he finally meets Boogiepop, who explains his circumstances to Keiji. That evening, Keiji calls Touka's house, and her mother responds, sounding quite distressed. After passing the phone over to her daughter, Keiji asks if the girl had gone anywhere on the day when they were supposed to meet up. After the girl tells him that she doesn't know, he concludes that Boogiepop had been saying the truth. Flashing back to their conversation on the rooftop, Keiji recalls how the shinigami had told him about how he's occupying Touka's body, and how he had risen back to the surface after a new threat appeared. When Keiji asked what this threat was, Boogiepop first made him promise to never tell anyone, and then divulged that the threat this time is a man-eater. After ending the call with Touka, Keiji tried to comprehend what Boogiepop had told him, as well as the possibility of his girlfriend being mentally ill. On the way home from school, he had bought a book written by Seiichi Kirima on the topic of multiple personalities, and learned that the illness is almost unheard of in Japan. The next day, in a conversation with Boogiepop, Keiji asked the shinigami if he was, as the book described, just another 'possibility' of Touka's. Boogiepop rejected the idea, telling the boy that he is an automatic device which saves mankind from whatever threats may endanger it. The two continue conversing. After that, it becomes a routine for the two to meet up on the rooftop and talk about various things. During the course of their many chats, Boogiepop tells Keiji of his past and his first appearance, during an incident with a serial killer. One day, Naoko Kamikishiro stops coming to school. Keiji asks her classmates for details, but all of them are convinced she just ran away, and don't feel any concern for her. Keiji is uneasy about her disappearance, but ultimately does not know anything about the situation. When he goes up to the roof, he finds it empty. The next day, he finds Boogiepop on the roof, without wearing his costume. When Keiji asks why, Boogiepop tells him that there is no need to wear the costume, because this would be the last time he would appear, as the danger is gone. Keiji is distressed, and desperately asks him to stay, admitting that the shinigami is his only friend. Boogiepop, however, responds that Keiji and Touka have their own jobs to do, before vanishing without a trace. After hurrying down the stairs, he finds Touka waiting for him, smiling. Keiji offers to walk Touka to the station, and the two leave the school. Waiting at the school's gate is Kei, along with the school's 'problem child', Nagi Kirima. Nagi offers to shake Touka's hand, and then the couple leave. As they're walking along, Touka admits that she's jealous of Keiji for not having any exams, and then admits to him that she remembers standing him up on that date. As he watches Touka laugh, Keiji thinks that it's their job to laugh, since Boogiepop is unable to. Boogiepop and Others Novel, Chapter 1 Interlude The Manticore watches over a deceased victim in a dimly lit room. Then, it begins licking the girl all over her body, with each spot it touches changing color. Afterwards, the corpse begins dissolving into a strange smoke, which the Manticore then breathes in, eating all that remained of the girl. After any traces disappeared, the Manticore licked its lips and laughed. Boogiepop and Others Novel, First Interlude Chapter Two: The Return of the Fire Witch Kazuko Suema reflects on the urban legend of Boogiepop, concluding that it's simply a baseless rumor created from a desire to overlap reality with some fantastical world. On a day after summer vacation, while Kazuko eats her lunch, her classmate, Kyouko Kinoshita asks her about some random piece of trivia, to which Kazuko answers accurately, prompting the other girls in the classroom to call her 'obsessed'. Kyouko then asks Kazuko what kind of person would be most likely to commit murder from their class, a query the other girls take great interest in. As Kazuko gives a boiled-down psychological analysis on somebody who would likely commit murder, the girls all immediately associate it with Nagi Kirima, a notorious girl at their school, who was currently skipping that day. As the girls starts hurling mean-spirited assumptions and rumors about Nagi, Kazuko alone doesn't share their negative impression, although she does not show it on the outside, in an attempt to go along with the crowd. After the girls laugh a little too loudly, Minako Yurihara, the best student in the class, a loner with no friends, turns to glare at them. Afterwards, somebody brings up the rumor of Boogiepop, and Kazuko, unfamiliar with the urban legend, asks about it, and they fill her in. Upon learning, Kazuko internally scoffs at the legend, thinking it to be absurd and stupid. Once Akio Kimura, the class lady killer, walks in, the girls immediately end their conversation, Kazuko concluding that this urban legend is being kept secret from boys. No longer paying attention to their conversation, Kazuko explains the origins of her criminal psychology obsession, which came about as a result of her almost being killed by a serial killer five years ago. As Kazuko, who complains in her mind about being forced to take a Modern Japanese class, and a classmate of hers walk toward their classroom, they hear an announcement calling for Touka Miyashita over the speakers, with the other girl theorizing that she faked illness to go on a date with her senior boyfriend. Then, Kazuko's classmate sees Boogiepop on the roof, with Kazuko, while doubtful, opting to check the roof for her, but ultimately finding it empty. As they make their way home, Kyouko Kinoshita asks Kazuko what murderers think. Kazuko asks Kyouko why she was so interested in such things recently, and Kyouko explains that she suspects Nagi Kirima may be a killer, mentioning an earlier incident where the delinquent girl gets herself suspended for smoking. Kyouko then explains that Nagi did something to a girl she knew, and theorizes that she may have gotten herself suspended on purpose to do it. Kazuko remembers how Nagi seemed to have deliberately gotten herself caught, as well as other instances of her unusual behavior, sometimes skipping entire days of school, but leaving the teachers no chance to take any action against her, as she always came back with all of the material completely memorized. Then, all of a sudden, Kyouko lets out a shriek, seeing the girl they were just talking about, Nagi, appear in front of her, wearing a leather suit. Kyouko attempts to run, but is quickly captured in a hold by Nagi, who interrogates her about Akiko Kusatsu's death, but quickly realizes that struggling girl has no involvement in that. As Kazuko approaches, concerned, Nagi tells Kyouko to never attempt something stupid just because her friends tell her to, before turning to leave. However, when Kazuko stops her, Nagi tells her to move on from the murders from five years ago, leaving Kazuko confounded as to where she could have gotten that information from. After swearing to keep it a secret, Kyouko finally tells Kazuko about her past, explaining that, three months ago, a girl who Kyouko was in junior high with, named Akiko Kusatsu, approached her group of friends with a strange blue drug, which the girls started using, as Akiko offered it free of charge. Soon after, however, many of her friends started vanishing with no trace left behind, with Akiko herself disappearing soon after. Then, one of the girls in her group of friends announced that she would no longer have anything to do with the drug, after Nagi Kirima threatened her. After that, she would go after each girl in order, with Kyouko being last. After stating that she would never take drugs again, Kyouko began crying, desperately asking Kazuko to not tell anyone. Kazuko did her best to calm her down, then took the girl home. While walking through the streets at night, Kazuko reflected on the girl's account, wondering whether she should call the police, but ultimately deciding not to, as that would get Kyouko's story out, which would result in her being expelled. Then, under a streetlight, Kazuko looked over her class registry and found Nagi's address, deciding to pay her a visit. Arriving at the address specified, Kazuko was confused for a second, seeing no nameplate with the name 'Kirima', but instead, one bearing the name 'Taniguchi'. Upon making up her mind, she rang the doorbell, and asked for Nagi. A cheerful Masaki Taniguchi opens the door and invites her in, but informs her that Nagi hadn't arrived yet, so he suggests her to wait inside. Inside, Masaki offers Kazuko tea, and remarks that he had never met one of Nagi's friends before. Then, he explains his circumstances to her, how he arrived in Japan only six months ago, and how his parents are still abroad. Soon after, Nagi comes home and invites Kazuko to her room, a room lacking any decoration, filled instead by books and a desk covered by computer screens. After offering her to sit, Nagi explains that Masaki is not actually related to her, but just a step brother from her mother's second marriage, after her father's death. When she mentions that her father is the esteemed writer Seiichi Kirima, Kazuko freaks out, being one of his biggest fans. Nagi continues to explain her family circumstances, how she has been living off her father's plentiful inheritance all this time. Afterwards, Kazuko asks the question on her mind the entire time: why she saved Kyouko and all of her friends. Nagi, instead of directly responding, relates how, after her parents' divorce, she lived with her father, who worked all the time. One day, upon coming home from school, she found him bleeding out on the floor, telling her with his last words that 'being normal means accepting everything as it is and never changing', and telling her to do things that aren't normal. He then passed out and never woke up again. Nagi states that, after that day, she gave up on living normally, and admits to having a messiah complex. Nagi then boots up her computer and shows Kazuko a record of every student's attendance, which she got from logging into the school's network, and explains that she noticed Kyouko's group getting worse, and investigated them, eventually figuring out the drug story. Kazuko recognizes the illegality of such an endeavor, but Nagi states that somebody has to help the students, even though it may be through dirty means. Then, Nagi hands over a phone to Kazuko, and tells her to call her home, informing them that she would bring a friend home for dinner. The next day, Nagi comes to school, not interacting at all with Kyouko or Kazuko, only sleeping on her desk for the entire day. Kazuko wants to talk to Nagi more about last night, but has no chance to. Kazuko ended up inviting Nagi for dinner at her house, because Nagi expected them to be worried about their daughter being out so late otherwise. As they set off towards, Kazuko's home, the two girls talk. Eventually, Nagi tells Kazuko to 'get out while she still can' and forget about the incident from five years ago. Kazuko then confronts Nagi, asking her how she even knows about that event. Nagi becomes flustered, as she didn't realize Kazuko's past was a secret, due to never interacting with anyone else in her class. Kazuko concludes that she must have been the one to save her from the serial killer. Nagi tries to evade the question, and tells Kazuko to not bring it up, as she doesn't want to talk about it, not before making a confusing statement, saying that it was Boogiepop, the urban legend, who saved her life. As she stares at Nagi's sleeping figure on her desk, Kazuko thinks about how she'd like to thank the her for what she's done. When Nagi moaned slightly in her sleep, the teacher became enraged and made her answer the poorly written and slightly obscured formula on the blackboard. Nagi, after squinting for a moment, instantly solves the formula before going back to sleep, embarrassing the teacher and making the class giggle. Kazuko, stifling a laugh, thinks about how it's just another regular day, with the Fire Witch back among them. Boogiepop and Others Novel, Chapter 2 Interlude Echoes, having escaped from the police thanks to Boogiepop, wanders through a desolate back alley, and then collapses on the ground once more, not crying this time, thanks to the shinigami's encouraging words. As he confirms his determination to eliminate the Manticore in his mind, a girl, Naoko Kamikishiro, sees and approaches him, worried for his well being. Despite the alien man being unable to speak using words that he didn't already hear, Naoko somehow perfectly understood all of his thoughts. She decided to guide him to the school, wanting to give him a place to live. Then, she called Nagi, asking her for help. Boogiepop and Others Novel, Second Interlude Chapter Three: No One Lives Forever Masami Saotome first fell in love when he was 15 years old. Akiko Kusatsu asks Masami out on a double date, along with Sachiko Noguchi and Jun Sakamoto. He accepts the proposal. Later, the group meets at the station, running into Keiji Takeda, who is waiting for his girlfriend, Touka, who was seemingly running late. After the movie, the group notices 'Minako Yurihara' walking on the street. While the others speak about how they admire her genius, Masami alone knows 'her' true nature. Then, the group goes to a karaoke place, suggested by Akiko. During the performances, when nobody is paying attention, he drugs Akiko's drink. The girl Masami fell in love with was Nagi Kirima, who, upon hearing his confession, rejects him, not having the time for a relationship, and also believing that a normal person like him shouldn't be involved with her. Saotome accepts the rejection without feeling hurt at all, but rather, relieved. After leaving the karaoke place, Sakamoto offers to take Noguchi home, leaving Masami to escort Akiko, who begins to feel sick all of a sudden. Noguchi is hesitant to be left alone with Sakamoto at first, but is eventually convinced (although the two would end up having intercourse that night, leading to Noguchi's old fashioned father tracking Sakamoto down and cursing him out in front of his entire class). Once the two are gone, and Akiko gradually gets weaker and weaker, Masami drags her into an abandoned parking garage. Once arriving on the seventh floor, he places her (who had already stopped breathing by then), on the ground, and moments later, a creature jumps all the way to the top. It's the Manticore, with the visage of Minako Yurihara. It laments the fact that it can't eat her now, but Masami assures it that they could get five more victims if they play their cards well. Convinced, the Manticore kisses the body, forcing a gaseous essence inside her. As Masami watches with sick pleasure, the Manticore continues the kiss for 30 seconds, then pulls back, its lips now red. Then, the corpse becomes revitalized, with a blue liquid pouring out of its orifices. Having become a slave, Akiko is ordered to administer the drug produced by the Manticore to her friend group, and is robbed of her memories of the encounter. Five minutes later, Akiko, having come to her senses, is walking alongside Masami. She tries and fails to remember what had previously happened, unaware that she had already died, and was simply a puppet. As she slowly comes to her senses, all of her emotions quickly fade away, even forgetting her love for Masami, not even realizing that he is the one she previously treasured. Then, he meets with the Manticore at a coffee shop, and the two discuss their plans for the future, looking like a regular couple. Masami flashes back to the day he first encountered the Manticore, in the tea ceremony room. When he entered the room, he was met with the corpse of Minako Yurihara. Then, he was attacked by the Manticore. Pinned back, the Manticore explained to him that it would take his body and blend into society. Hearing this, Masami said that it would be more helpful for it to keep him alive, explaining that, if it became him, people would notice, as he was fairly popular. The Manticore asked him why he wasn't struggling for his life at all, to which the boy proclaimed that 'he loved her'. Back in the coffee shop, Masami and the Manticore plot out the strategies they should take in order to remake society, with them at the center. Beforehand, the Manticore only thought of survival, so she accepted the new goal gleefully. Then, with the conversation ended, the Manticore declares its love for Masami once more. All according to their plan, Akiko spreads the drug to her friends, and then they kidnap and kill them in order. However, they are unable to turn them into slaves this time. They already killed many high school girls from multiple schools, leaving no traces, and throwing off the authorities. The teacners don't spare a thought for the missing girls, as they see them as 'troublemakers'. Soon, however, Akiko's behavior becomes strange. Concluding that she began to break down, they dispose of her, fearing that, if she were to be examined, the "institution" that created the Manticore would find out. The Manticore, frustrated that she is unable to make any more slaves, promises that she will do it next time, but Masami advises that they shouldn't kill any more people from the school, or they would be found out. The Manticore accepts obediently. The next day, a female teacher asks Masami to keep watch on Nagi (who is sitting in the teacher's restroom with a cigarette in her mouth in order to get suspended) while she gets another teacher on the scene. Nagi questions him about Akiko Kusatsu, which makes him very uneasy, although he doesn't let it show on his face. Then, Nagi is hauled off by the arriving teachers to the guidance office. Left alone, Masami realizes that Nagi must have been looking into his crimes, and that she would soon find him out. Upon telling the Manticore about Nagi in the pool changing room, it becomes enraged and suggests they kill her. Masami protests, bringing up her family's wealth and the unlikelihood of her disappearance being put down as a runaway. The Manticore, however, accuses Masami of still being in love with the girl, to which Masami becomes startled. However, just then, Naoko walks in, calling out to Echoes. Masami tries to stop it, but the Manticore lunges at her and murderes her instantly. Masami yelles at it, asking it why she killed the girl, but the Manticore showes extreme fear, having heard the name of her original. Masami tries to calm it down, and then, realizing the body belongs to Nagi's friend, assures the shaken Manticore that the advantage is on their side. Then, they take Naoko's body to the basement, where it is consumed. During this, the lyrics of a song called "No One Lives Forever" flash through Masami's mind. Boogiepop and Others Novel, Chapter 3 Chapter Four: I Wish You Heaven Chapter Five: Heartbreaker Characters Note: Bold = First Appearance/Mention *'Boogiepop' *'Touka Miyashita' *'Kazuko Suema' *'Nagi Kirima' *'Masaki Taniguchi' *'Seiichi Kirima' *'Keiji Takeda' *'Kei Niitoki' *'Naoko Kamikishiro' *'Shirou Tanaka' *'Kyouko Kinoshita' *'Akio Kimura' *'Masami Saotome' *'Akiko Kusatsu' *'Manticore' *'Minako Yurihara' *'Echoes' *'Sachiko Noguchi' *'Jun Sakamoto' Illustrations BoogiepopAndOthersImage0.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage1.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage2.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage3.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage4.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage5.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage6.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage7.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage8.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage9.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage10.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage11.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage12.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersImage13.jpg BoogiepopAndOthersBack.jpg Musical References #The name of the first chapter, Romantic Warrior, is a reference to the title song of the sixth studio album of the jazz fusion band Return to Forever, released in 1976. #Naoko Kamikishiro is described as often singing the "Gondola Song" (Gondola no Uta), a song popular during the Taishou period of Japan, most popularly featured as the theme song of the 1952 film Ikiru. #The name of the Manticore is a reference to the song of the same name by the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, from their album "Tarkus", released in 1971. #The name of Echoes is a reference to the song of the same name by Pink Floyd, featured in the album Meddle, released in 1971. #The name of the second chapter, The Return of the Fire Witch, is a reference to the title song of the album "In The Court Of The Crimson King" by King Crimson. #The name of the third chapter, No One Lives Forever, is a reference to the song of the same name by the band Oingo Boingo, featured in their fifth album "Dead Man's Party", released in 1985. #The name of the fourth chapter, I Wish You Heaven, is a reference to the song "I Wish U Heaven" by Prince, featured in his album "Lovesexy", released in 1988. #The name of the fifth and final chapter, Heartbreaker, is a reference to the song of the same name by Led Zepellin, featured in their 1969 album, "Led Zeppelin II". #The BGM for this book, as revealed in the afterword, is Heartbreaker -Live ver.- by Grand Funk Railroad. References Navigation Category:Boogiepop Series Category:Light Novel